Drake’s Take: New Releases 07.08.08

Once again, I’m pretty tardy with this thing, I’m not really sure why it takes me so long to post these, considering I only write this little paragraph (and I usually phone that in too). This week Drake tackles the latest from everybody’s favorite secret Scientologist, Beck and a new one from sludge metal veterans, Melvins. (That’s right, you waited a whole week for that little nugget.) -ed.

Beck is dancing a jig at the end of the world… or maybe he’s the paranoid stoner on the look out for the cops at the party, either way, the juxtaposition of lamenting the apocalypse and the feel-good vibes that Danger Mouse provides is something to hear. The music is closer to Odelay, but the bummer feel behind it is all Sea Change. The one song that melds the sound with the lyrics is the stunning closer “Volcano,” and there’s a lyric in it that perhaps reveals a lot about Beck and a more personal theme of the album:

“I’m tired of people who only want to be pleased, but I still want to please you.”

Appropriate for a new Melvins release to precede the Sub Pop music festival, as the band’s sludge-laden rock riffs anticipated Sub Pop’s meal ticket of grunge, and were a specific influence on Nirvana’s early sound (Nirvana’s first demo had Melvins Dale Crover on the drums). Melvins famously relocated to San Francisco in 1988, just missing the grunge scene’s breakthrough, leaving behind bassist Matt Lukin who then formed Mudhoney with Mark Arm and Steve Turner. Melvins have remarkably remained together all these years despite remaining mostly a footnote in the casual indie rock fan’s ledger. Nude Boots is the most straight ahead recording they’ve done, yet, like any other Melvins recording, it still pounds with the force of a thousand suns.